Humanity’s dependence on plastic grows stronger with each passing year. As a people, we are addicted to plastic. From electronics to medical supplies to everyday household items, we can find plastics in every aspect of our life. Nonetheless, the convenience of this synthetic material does not negate the harmful imprint it has and continues to leave on our environment and human health.
Our obsession with plastics has led to an increase in their production, which translates to an increased use of petrochemicals to manufacture them. Plastic production is resource and emission intensive, and this means that curbing plastic use worldwide is an urgent climate issue that requires action from individuals, companies and governments.
As an eco-focused company, Hamanasi has long ago committed to reducing plastic consumption. At the foundation of it all is our green purchasing policy, which guides which products are used across our operations. From limiting plastic packaging to buying eco or organic alternatives, our mission always has been to minimize the impact our resort has on the environment.
When you arrive at Hamanasi you will experience an example in sustainable elegance; where our practices are seamlessly interwoven within our superior service. Some of those touches you will notice are that none of the beverages sold on property are bottled in plastic. Room amenities are in wooden or glass containers. And we even give you a complimentary water bottle to refill at your convenience!
We’ve established our very own carpentry shop to construct and easily repair the wooden fixtures and fittings that adorn your room, our offices and the Singanga restaurant. Whatever we cannot make ourselves, we try to source locally and in so doing support the local economy. Our employees support our ethos, expanding the practices that lead to a healthier planet for us all.
What You Can Do to Minimize Use of Plastic
1. Sip from a reusable water bottle. You could save an average of 156 plastic bottles annually! Globally, humans buy 1,000,0000 plastic bottles and 91% are not recycled! If you can avoid buying a drink in a plastic bottle, please do so.
2. Find an alternative to plastic straws as they are used for only minutes, but remain on Earth forever. When enjoying a delicious drink, try steel or bamboo straws (like ones made in Belize), or no straw at all!
3. Travel with reusable cutlery, you’ll avoid creating single use plastic waste that can take over 1,000 years to break down and decompose!
4. Every plastic cup ever made still exists in some form! Use a reusable cup to do your part to help eliminate the types of plastics that break down into microplastics that pollute our environment.
5. When storing leftovers or carrying food to go, use glass containers. They are dishwasher friendly and do not degrade over time, being more cost effective than the plastic alternatives.
6. Use reusable shopping bags to reduce the number of single-use plastic bags that when floating in the oceans can look like a jelly fish to sea turtles. Did you know that many sea creatures die from consuming plastics?
7. Avoid single pod coffee capsules as they are not recyclable. You most likely will have more than one cup of coffee per day and the pods’ plastic containers will last a lifetime!
8. Be creative and use wood, or other natural alternatives to plastics.
There are so many other ways that you can reduce your use of plastics and protect Mother Earth. We hope you will share with us some of your ideas!
